No One Else
by Lady Elena Dawson
Summary: Aria answers his call in 4x10. One-shot.


**A/N: It's 12:25AM here, but I just had to write this. After tonight's depressing Ezria episode, I decided to rewrite it into what I would've liked to see. Though all this Jake stuff is there to shape Ezria's relationship, all of it's been rather slow. So, here's an alternate ending to episode 4x10, written purely to make me, and others, feel better.**

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**No One Else**

**What Should Have Happened in "The Mirror Has Three Faces"**

After following up on an interesting lead to the mysterious Cece—boy, did that girl have quite a disappearing act—Aria Montgomery clacked in her fashionable high heels back to Jake's tournament, silently wishing she had chosen a comfier outfit. Suddenly, just as she was about to enter the gymnasium, her phone started to ring, and her heart stopped when she saw the caller ID.

Ezra.

What was he doing calling her? Didn't they agree to stop seeing each other? Sure, they'd had that encounter in the hallway of his apartment complex, but ever since then she'd been avoiding him like the plague. Once she saw him at the Brew with Maggie, and though her heart wanted to pound out of her chest, she pretended like she hadn't seen him and instead had an amazing time with Jake. Jake, the one she was dating now—not Ezra. It was as plain as simple as that.

But what if something bad had happened, and it wasn't Ezra calling, but Maggie to inform her of some terrible accident? Before her thoughts could race in any more directions, however, Jake's head popped out of the door.

"Hey, I'm on in five minutes," he reminded her as she twisted her lips into a fake smile.

"Yeah, just let me take this," she said, indicating her vibrating phone. With an understanding and kindhearted grin, Jake nodded and ducked back inside.

Biting her lip, Aria gave the decline button another thought. But before her finger could ruin another opportunity of setting things right with Ezra, she thoughtlessly answered.

"Hello?" she spoke into the receiver in a calm voice. She didn't want to give away too much of the emotions she was feeling.

Meanwhile, on the other end, the breath hitched in Ezra's throat. He'd been staring at the same book spine for an agonizing two minutes, one of them used up debating on whether to call Aria or not. After all, he'd dated her for over a year. There were rough patches in between, but he considered it a serious relationship, especially in the last few months that it had lasted. Two people didn't talk about a future together if they weren't considering it.

Once Maggie had left and he'd downed a glass or two of burning scotch, Ezra instinctually pulled up Aria's contact information. Across from where he stood next to the couch, there was a picture frame on his nightstand. He didn't have the heart to take it down; Malcolm had always pointed it out to him because he wondered why Aria wasn't there, and Ezra thought that if he shoved it in a drawer it would only make things harder to explain. It was the same picture Aria had on her nightstand, one she'd taken herself with an outstretched hand on one of their first public dates.

Immediately he was captivated by her hazel, doe-like eyes and wide smile. It was something he'd witnessed a week or two ago when Aria had visited to thank him, but he didn't really think about it until then.

Seeing her face on a piece of laminated paper made him realize…there was no one left to turn to. Maggie had lied and cheated, his relationship with Wes was rocky, he didn't trust his mother, and all his friends from college were far away from Rosewood. Plus, Aria was the only one he'd ever felt safe talking to, like he could be honest without the fear of losing her if things became too heavy.

Now here he was, cell phone in hand, and for the first time a stomach-gnawing emotion rose in his throat and he recognized it as the one thing he'd never felt: fear. He'd lost her, and he was afraid that his call would only make her pull farther away. Maybe if he'd fought harder, maybe if he'd known the signs, or hadn't taken the job...

All the maybes clogged his head until her sweet, familiar voice cleared it. It was a sound he'd missed, a sound he'd longed for in the hours he wasn't grading papers or babysitting Malcolm. She was still living in his head, and it hurt to the point of death admitting that he wasn't over her and wouldn't be for a very, _very_ long time.

Maybe even never.

Mesmerized by his swirling thoughts, Ezra managed to pull himself out of his muck and speak into the phone. "Aria," he whispered, and his voice cracked as another tear unwillingly slid down his cheek.

"Ezra," Aria greeted him coolly, a sad look on her face as she leaned against the brick wall. "Why are you calling?"

"I needed to speak with you," Ezra blurted out, closing his eyes when they started to sting again.

By the tone of Ezra's voice, Aria instantly stiffened and dropped her cold demeanor. "Is everything okay?" she asked concernedly. Just by detecting the worry in her words made Ezra feel slightly better; that meant she still cared.

"No," he sighed, coughing to mask another croak. Nervously his sweaty palms played with the button of his wrinkled shirt. Then he added in a desperate whisper, "I need to see you."

Exhaling deeply, Aria shut her eyes and shifted her weight to the other foot. Whenever she tried to take a step forward, Ezra was always there to pull her a step back. The universe had a weird way of sending messages, and if Aria wasn't trying so hard to move on with Jake she would have realized a long time ago that some things were meant to be. Like soulmates.

But the new Aria didn't believe in that romantic jumbo anymore. After the news of Ezra's rich family and his past life in high school, Aria had started to question how much she _didn't _know. And because of this she was prompted to believe that she'd been indulging in a fantasy, and that she needed to wake up from that dream.

However, something was holding her back from declining his offer. There was a sense of urgency that she'd never felt before in the problems of their complicated relationship. So she filled up her lungs and said without another thought, "Okay. I'll be there soon." And before she could change her mind, Aria ended the call.

Ezra stared at his screen that was burning holes into his eyes. Unexpectedly, a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Had Aria really just said she was going to come?

As Aria shoved her cell into her coat pocket, she headed back into the gym and was thankful to find that Jake hadn't gone up yet. "Hey, I have to run," she explained in a hurry, taking his arm in her hand. "Urgent crisis with a friend. I'm sure you'll do great." And Jake, being the understanding person he was, even though he hated it sometimes, allowed her to walk away.

Rapidly Aria climbed into her car and turned on the engine, barely giving it time to warm up before weaving her way out of the parking lot and onto the winding road. Her thoughts kept her so distracted, she didn't notice she was outside of Ezra's apartment door until she was standing in front of it and knocking under the plaque marked "3B." Old habits die hard, she guessed.

The Ezra who opened the door was not the Ezra she was used to. Seeing him in person made her realize that this situation was a lot worse than she'd first anticipated. "Ezra," she spoke up when he didn't break out from his daze. She walked inside and shut the door behind her. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Ezra scoffed. He didn't dare look her in the eye in fear of her leaving once he unleashed the truth. "Tell me what's right."

"Well, what isn't right?" Aria asked him, becoming the down-to-business girlfriend he knew very well. But he still didn't respond, and Aria found herself grabbing for his damp hand. "Ezra, I'm here now. And I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened."

"I got the results back from a paternity test I took," Ezra explained rather dryly. A pit grew in Aria's stomach. She had a feeling where this was going.

"And?" Unknowingly, she squeezed his hand, and Ezra glanced down at their entwined fingers. Yet another thing he missed without her by his side.

"Maggie lied," he whispered. Sometimes he wondered if he didn't say it out loud, it wouldn't be true. But now, with Aria standing so close and her large eyes filling with tears, Ezra's hope collapsed.

Pulling her hand away, Aria sniffled and wiped her palms on her skirt, biting her bottom lip. "I don't know what to say," she admitted honestly. So instead she said the only thing she could think of. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," he snapped, and he grabbed his glass of scotch and threw back another large sip. "Me too."

Blinking, Aria wiped a stray tear from her cheek and tilted her head like she was inspecting the crumbling man in front of her. "Why did you call me here, Ezra?" she asked kindly and decently, something he respected. "Was it out of spite?"

"No," Ezra admitted. Everything about him felt strangely numb. "I just needed to hear you…see you." Opening his mouth, he wanted to ask her something, but knew it wasn't right.

When he finally dared himself to look into her eyes, he was caught by surprise. There was a certain warmth about her eyes, light quivering off her tears, as another and another dripped down her face. He didn't know she had been crying until he saw her then.

Then, all of sudden, she caught him completely by surprise—by grabbing his hand and holding it tight, her other one grazing his knuckles. "I'm so, so sorry," she cried, and instantly she had her arms wrapped around his neck, shutting her eyes tightly when she also realized how perfectly her head fit on his shoulder.

The only thing that made the moment any less than special was that she didn't know what she was apologizing for: letting go of them so easily or the fact he was lied to about a little boy.

At first, Ezra was blown away by the feel of her body so close to his again, but once he shook his head and realized this wasn't a dream, he caved in and wrapped his own arms around her tiny waist. Thoughtlessly she tightened her grip, and he followed her movements.

When they pulled apart, Aria saw how pathetic they both looked with tear stains tainting their cheeks. But it certainly was a situation to cry about, and because of that she didn't make a joke. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Ezra squirmed under her gaze. Hesitantly he said, "Can we just be here now? Like old times, just huddled on the couch without a word shared between us?"

Unconsciously, Aria found herself smiling. "Sure," she agreed. "Whatever makes you feel better."

Suddenly, it was like nothing had changed. Aria studied his selection of DVDs though she already knew his set by heart as Ezra prepared a bowl of popcorn.

There was something on Ezra's mind that wasn't letting up on him, though. "Listen, Aria," he said reluctantly, and turned to face her. "I saw you with this guy the other day at the Brew, and—"

"You mean Jake?" she piped up nonchalantly.

Just the casualty in her voice made Ezra shudder. "Yeah, Jake. Are you two…friends?"

"We've dated here and there. Why?" she asked. By the rigidness of his shoulders, Aria knew what was going on, and like that her content bubble popped. "We agreed to seeing other people, Ezra."

Ezra busied himself by pouring the popcorn into a ready bowl. "But what if…I don't want you seeing anyone else?"

Aria interpreted the conversation and immediately took initiative. "No, Ezra. We can't go back to the sneaking around, the lies and hiding—"

"I'm not asking you to," he fought back, pounding his fist on the countertop.

"Well, that's sure what it sounds like, Ezra," Aria yelled, her voice rising. She smashed her lips together and took a deep breath before continuing more calmly, "Because of me you lost two jobs. I can't be responsible for you losing another one, or even worse, going to jail because, as it turns out, people _know_ about us! If they weren't suspicious before, they will be if I start seeing you after class every day for old time's sake."

The popcorn was forgotten and now sat coldly in its bowl. Ezra stood in the kitchen, his back to her, as a lump clogged his throat. He heard her take a few steps behind him, and then felt her gentle hand on his shoulder. "We just can't," she whispered, and finally the words sunk in.

As much as he loved her, as much as he wanted them to be something special again, they couldn't. She was right. What they had…it was wrong again. He took the job for Malcolm, but now that there was no Malcolm, Ezra wasn't sure what he was doing anymore. Teaching was his passion, but so was Aria.

It was either one or the other.

After an extended moment of silence, Aria's tearful voice broke the still air. "Can we just enjoy being here now like you said, and sit down and watch a movie? Can we not think about this now?"

Like that, a light clicked on in Ezra's head, and he knew what he wanted. He wanted her back, and he would do anything for that. Jobs were replaceable. But a girl like Aria wasn't. And he was willing to take it slow if it meant having her by his side.

Grabbing the bowl of popcorn, Ezra turned around with a whole new perspective of his life. Yes, he was still devastated. And yes, he was still hurting inside like heck. But a part of him was satisfied just knowing she had answered his call and came to his rescue.

"Of course," he said. "I'd like that."

And the smile on her face was all he needed to see to confirm his wishes.


End file.
